State of the Watch Collection: Still Divided by Wanting More and Less

I saw a guest on Bill Maher last night, a Daily Beast writer John Avlon, wearing what appeared to be a Panerai or some such watch with a "bubble" dome crystal. It made me realize that the dome-like bubble is one of my favorite features on a watch. In any case, it almost made me realize I all too often see a watch with a type of styling that I want to add to my collection. On the other hand, I hate choosing from a big collection of watches. No matter what watch I choose, I always regret not wearing another, which is why part of me would love to have only four watches.

But that won't happen.  I currently have 12 watches. A year from now, my guess is that I'll have between 15-17 watches. I may get some "costume jewelry" such as a Chotovelli. I notice Amazon sells them for less than half the asking price, around the $150 price. My guess is they're in the same ballpark of Invicta, which means more about style than anything else.

Other Notes:

I have mixed feelings about having my current Citizen Grand Touring for sale. There appears to be a disconnect between the photos I have of it, which look amazing, and the way it plays on my wrist, which looks so-so. But if it doesn't sell, I'll be cool. I'm not desperate to get rid of it. My guess is that it's one of those watches in which the more you wear it the more you love it. Either way I'll be fine.

Yesterday the bezel on my one-month-old Seiko SUN019 got stuck. I called Watch City and they told me to take it in. They sprayed a can of Watch Tech cleaner on a cloth and removed some dirt that got stuck under the bezel. Nowthe bezel moves as buttery smooth as it did when I got it.  Looks like I'll need to buy a can of that stuff.

Comments

[Gary]

Jeff,

Was the dirt stuck between the bezel and the crystal, or somewhere else? I'm having trouble picturing how they removed it with a cloth.

[Gary]

Chotovelli makes some interesting looking pieces, but most of them have hands that are too short for my taste.

[herculodge]

I assume the dirt was between the bezel and the case.

[Gary]

I wonder how they got a cloth in there? It looks like a pretty tight fit.

[herculodge]

I assume the contact spray softened the hardened particulate or dissolved it.

[Gary]

OK, I get it. Apparently they sprayed the cleaner into the gap, not just on the cloth. Maybe running the watch under some lukewarm water while trying to turn the bezel might work as well.

[Angelo]

Jeff: I loved domed crystals. I think it's a great look, with useful magnification as well. It's funny----when I see a domed crystal watch in a photo or even in a jewelry case, there's nothing that attracts me to it. But once it's on my wrist, I can't help looking at it more times during the day than a standard watch crystal.

[herculodge]

I really miss the domes on my Invicta 4831 and 4830. I wish I would have kept those.

[jonnybardo]

The good thing about Invictas, Jeff, is that they're relatively cheap to replace - although on a quick look it doesn't look like either of those are available on Ebay or Amazon.

I love that CGT and would consider buying it from you, but I really have to get around to selling some watches first.

[herculodge]

Thanks for the encouragement, Jonny. I really miss that 4831 a lot. If one should show up on eBay . . .

[herculodge]

I should add that after owning 60 Invictas I'm not all over the place in terms of which ones I liked. There was one style: The Force with the bubble glass that stuck with me.

[jonnybardo]

Well it sounds like you should re-buy one. Nothing wrong with having an Invicta or two in the mix.

In a way I miss the old innocent days of binge purchasing on the Sunday Run.